Macron and Tebboune Hold Talks to Mend Franco-Algerian Relations

"The President of the French Republic and the President of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria spoke by telephone on Monday, March 31. The President of the Republic wished to convey to President Tebboune and the Algerian people his best wishes for success and prosperity on the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr celebration. The two presidents had a long, frank and friendly exchange on the state of the bilateral relationship and on the tensions that have accumulated in recent months," says a joint statement published on the Elysée website.

The two personalities "reiterated their willingness to renew the fruitful dialogue they had consecrated with the Algiers Declaration of August 2022 and which had resulted in strong gestures on memorial matters, including the creation of the Franco-Algerian joint commission of historians, the restitution of human remains, the recognition of responsibility in the death of Ali Boumendjel and Larbi Ben M’hidi." In line with the warming of relations between Paris and Algiers, the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, will travel to Algiers on April 6 at the invitation of his Algerian counterpart Ahmed Attaf. "The two presidents have finally agreed on the principle of an upcoming meeting," the same source concludes.

The communiqué does not mention the issue of the Moroccan Sahara. Deduction: the two heads of state did not address this issue, which nevertheless provoked a crisis between the two countries. Last July, France officially recognized the Moroccanness of the Sahara, provoking the anger of Algeria, the protector of the Polisario.